Please Don't Go
by Carlos'sCupcake
Summary: Maddie and Carlos have had issues lately. When Maddie decides she's had enough and wants to leave, will will Carlos be able to stop her?


**A/N This idea came from ****GlambertLovesBTR**** which I loved, so I hope it came out okay. It's not exactly the way she asked, and the ending is blah, I couldn't seem to find a way to end it, but I hope you enjoy it anyway :)**

I let the tears run freely down my face as I pack a suitcase of clothes for me and toiletries along with other items I'll need for the next few days and drag it down the stairs where I leave it by the door. I allow myself a quick drink of water before heading up to Sophie's room to pack up some of her stuff as well. Sophie is my five year old daughter that I had with my boyfriend Carlos. We were both sixteen when I got pregnant, but we did what we had to do and have been living together ever since. But lately, things just seem to be falling apart. We've had major problems recently and is seems like all we do is constantly argue. This morning was my last straw, the argument with Carlos over what kind of sandwich he wanted for lunch after I'd already fixed it for him. He wanted salami but we were completely out because I'd been so busy with my new job and adjusting to becoming a working mom that I hadn't realized we didn't have anymore. It's such a small thing to fight over, I know; but that's just how things seem to be these days.

Luckily Sophie had left for school before things went down, and as soon as Carlos left for work, I told myself I can't do it anymore. It's the third day of my new job and I had to call in sick to take care of things. So I'm not exactly sick, like I need medical attention sick, but I am sick and tired of fighting and everything. I've given everything I have to Carlos, but it doesn't seem to be enough and I'm ready to throw in the towel. It's also not healthy for our daughter to be around the consistent bickering.

I take Sophie's My Little Pony rolling suitcase out of her closet and pack it to the brim with all her favorite outfits before zipping it closed, and grabbing her Dora backpack and begin to stuff it with the toys she plays with the most. Hot, wet drops are falling to my neck now, and I take a moment to wipe them with the back of my hand before sitting on her tiny bed and picking up the stuffed elephant she sleeps with everynight. Suddenly a noise coming from downstairs startles me and I jump slightly at the sound of the door closing. Several seconds later I hear Carlos, my boyfriend, calling my name. I ignore him and continue what I'm doing until the sound of his footsteps bring him up to our daughter's bedroom.

"What are you doing Maddie?", he asks from the doorway.

My heart stops beating for the briefest moment, and I don't face him when I let the words slip out. "I'm leaving you. And I'm taking Sophie with me". I resume the task of putting Floppy, her elephant in the bag and spot her number one bedtime book in the bookcase across the room. She'll never go to sleep if I don't get that, so I go to get it, but am stopped when a figure towers over me.

"What? Why?", Carlos asks, exasperated.

I avoid looking at him and step around him. "Things just aren't working out with us, Carlos. We don't know how to be civil to eachother and I feel like I'm constantly walking on eggshells around you. I just can't do it anymore." I square my shoulders and pick up_ The Kissing Hand_, and cross the room to deposit it with the rest of my child's things.

"Maddie, you can't be serious", comes from the latino's mouth in just above a whisper.

"I am", I bite down onto my lower lip to keep from crying again.

"Baby", he sighs and I see him run his hands through his short black hair while pacing back and forth out of the corner of my eye. "I know things have been crazy lately, and I'm sorry. We're both stressed about money, and my job is very hectic and demanding at times, but things will calm down soon and I'll be home more often. Plus, you're working now so that will help with the bills."

"Carlos, it's just too much for me to handle anymore. We need a break. Maybe we weren't ever meant to be. I doubt we would even be together now if we never had Sophie", I state honestly.

"Please don't say that, and please don't leave. I need you to stay. You and Sophie are my life", Carlos is now kneeling in front of me with his hands on my thighs. "Please?", he chokes out.

"I just can't do it", I shake my head back and forth and close my eyes tightly, trying to keep the tears at bay. "I just can't", I repeat, trying to be strong for myself.

"But how can you just leave me like this? You can't take my daughter. Don't you love me anymore, Maddie?" His voice is shaky and his hands are trembling on my thighs. No matter how hard it is to see him like this, all the crying and begging in the world isn't going to fix our problems.

"That's not the point, Carlos. I-", I try to pound out an excuse but he's so close to me I can't think properly. I love him with all I am but getting out of here has got to be easier than living through the same thing day after day. "I'm leaving and that's it", I tell him sternly and stand up. I turn around and am zipping up the bookbag when I hear a chuckle come from my boyfriend, and being naturally curious, I spin back around to face him.

The caramel colored man is holding the large brown teddy bear that's almost his size, with a smile on his face. "Remember when we got this for Sophie?", he asks, his eyes shining.

"Yeah. Last year when she was four and had the chicken pox. No matter how many times I told her to stop scratching, she would do it anyway. Even when I put oven mitts over her hands, she would take them off. But then you-" I'm cut off by Carlos.

"I told her that if she doesn't scratch anymore, that as soon as she was better I would take her to the toystore and let her pick out anything she wanted. And she wanted this big guy."

How could I ever forget? She named the stuffed animal Samson and made us take him with us wherever we went for a whole week; our little lovebug even made us buckle him up in the seatbelt so he would stay safe. But I can't allow memories to hold me back.

"Ooh, do you remember the time we took her to Wyoming Park when she was three and she ran around feeding the ducks? It was the cutest thing. And then she fell asleep in the stroller before she could play on the playground, but you and I did. We pulled the canopy up to keep the sun out of her face and we chased eachother around like eight year olds, and then played on the swings, seeing who could jump the farthest."

"And we played on the see-saw", I jump in. "I got mad because you said Kate Upton is prettier than me so I jumped off when you were up in the air and you went crashing down down...really hard." I feel my lips curving up into a smile at the thought, it was quite hilarious.

"No one is prettier than you, Maddie", I feel the heat of Carlos's body getting closer to me and I step away. "I just meant that I really like the beauty mark close to her lip".

"Whatever", I wave my hand between us and build my wall right back up. "That's in the past."

Silence falls over the room as I pick up the bookbag and exit the room. I'm halfway down the staircase when I hear Carlos's steps echoing right behing mine. "Do you remember when we moved in here? I wasn't even sure I liked it, but you fell in love with the bathtub and that's all it took for you to agree."

I nod my head at the memory. Even though the house is only ten years old, it has an over-sized claw foot tub complete with jacuzzi jets and taking bubble baths is a guilty pleasure of mine.

"Do you remember the first time we got in there together?", I can tell there's a smile on his face by the sound of his voice.

It was only our third night here and Sophie was a year and a half old at the time. I ran a bath for us to share and things got hot and steamy, and we made love in that bathtub. That night he took things slow and was so sensual, and sensitive to my needs. It's honestly one of my favorite intimate memories of Carlos and I together.

"Mm-hmm", I press my lips together and open the closet next to the door, removing both Sophie's and mine's jacket out and laying them on top of my suitcase. It's April and not really cold, but sometimes the temperature drops and makes it a bit chilly.

"Maddie", Carlos calls my name again, and he sounds so broken that it tugs at my heart. "Where are you going? Please don't go."

I stop what I'm doing for a brief second, but push myself further along. I have to maintain my independence because I know what's the right thing to do right now. "Carlos", I sniffle and push my bangs out of my eyes. "i know what you're doing...taking a trip down memory lane with me, but it won't work."

"How about the time we painted these walls ourselves? You despised the plain white color and decided we could do it ourselves. I even let you pick out the color." His voice cracks as he speaks.

He's right. I did hate the boring walls so I decided to make a change. It was fun, Carlos and I running around in old clothes acting careless while giggling the whole time, wielding paint brushes. We would stop and steal kisses every so often, and many times I caught him just looking at me in awe with a silly smile on his face. When I would ask him what he's staring at, his reply was always the same. 'Perfection'. Of course with Sophie at my parent's house for that whole weekend, we spent lots of time cherishing eachother; mind, body, and soul.

Pushing the memory out of my head, I take my cellphone from the coffeetable and slide it in my pocket, before slipping my feet into the flats sitting next to the door. I take a moment to chew on my lip, wondering if I should say something, or just walk out. How do you say goodbye when you're leaving someone?

"M-Maddie", he stutters. "You can't leave me. I love you. We've been through too much together to let things end now. I've given you my best and no it's not always good enough. But I can change. For you I will...I'll do anything. I'm begging you Maddie, please don't walk out that door."

My eyes well up again and I wrap my hand on the doorknob when Carlos's voice once again stops me, he's louder now than before. "Do you remember when I proposed to you?", his tone is growing more desperate and my chest hurts more with each second that passes.

Of course I remember when he proposed to me. I look down at my left hand covering the doorhandle, which is now free of any jewelry. The diamond fell out when I was mopping the floor, and we sent it to the jeweler's to get it fixed, two weeks ago. The night Carlos proposed to me was magical, and I thought I'd never stop smiling. "I remember", I keep my voice plain and low.

"I meant everything I said. I've never loved anyone before you and I don't want to love anyone after you. You told me you would marry me, Maddie. But you didn't. You're trying to walk out of my life. But I-I can't let you", I hear him sniff and turn around to get one last glimpse of him. Carlos rushes over to me and falls onto his knees, wrapping his arms around my waist tightly and resting his face in my stomach. "Don't go. Please don't go", he's babbling into my abdomen while my shirt grows damp with his tears. "We've got too many memories that are left unmade. We've made too many to throw them all away. You, me, and Sophie. We're all a family. Without you I'm nothing."

I have a moment of numbness, where I hold onto the back of Carlos's head and bend down to kiss the top of his hair. "I can't...", I choke out, unable to hold back my own sobs at having this grown man on his knees, holding onto me like a child.

"I love you, Maddie. I'll do anything if you just stay."

"I-I", my head is spinning so fast at this moment that I can't come up with anything else. "I can't walk out that door, Carlos", I close my eyes as my knees give out and I sink to the floor with him, placing my face in the crook of his neck. "I love-", a hiccup sneaks up on me. "I love you, too Carlos", I babble into his skin and hold on for dear life. He is my world, he has been for the past five years, and this is where I belong.


End file.
